Strength is when you speak and others listen.
Power is when you speak and others obey.
— Excerpt from Meditations, by the Red Emperor
----------------------------------------
It is a jarring experience, meshing your experiences with mine.
"Perhaps you should've considered this outcome before you so forcefully read my memories."
You survived with no lasting ailments. The spirit seemed quick to dismiss the complaint. This is a new city for me, yet I have your memories of walking through it.
"A trade city, so I only passed through very briefly."
Molam had awoken from a dreamless sleep feeling lethargic, but he thanked the Gods for allowing him to rest undisturbed. He had left the inn early in the morning, too early to visit the Shrine for his appointment at noon, and so had chosen to walk around JiangXi. "We're not here to sightsee, but to familiarize ourselves with the city and learn as much as we can. And look for a Primrose."
Perhaps you should ask that Priestess girl instead of walking about aimlessly.
"Some things are best experienced instead of being told." Molam heaved a sigh, feeling the loss of direction. He had walked for some time now and noticed the distinctive lack of stalls placed on the streets. Whatever the wood situation in JiangXi, it was impacting the residents in ways that the City Lord could not be oblivious to. But he could not understand why the City Lord would allow the situation to persist, and he suspected it had to do with why the Oracle had chosen this city.
Finding an empty stone lantern near the side of the street, he wiped off the snow and sat down upon it to contemplate the situation as he waited for noon. He wrapped Komura's cloak around himself as he watched the city's residents pass by in silence, and for a brief moment he wondered what he would do if he happened across the children that had ambushed him.
"I don't mean this to sound strange, but did anything surprise you today?" Molam murmured as a group of people passed by him, semi-conscious that they might find it bizarre for him to be talking to himself. "I don't want to seem as though I'm only talking to you when I need you, so feel free to tell me what you're experiencing. Anything out of the ordinary? It can even be mundane to you."
This is you talking to me because you need me.
"You know what I mean," Molam puffed out his cheeks at the spirit's tone, and to his surprise the spirit laughed in his head.
It did not occur to me then, but I am curious why there is no established Domain over JiangXi.
Molam shifted on the stone lantern. "Elaborate?"
The Tempest is the defending Titled One for this city. But ever since we approached and entered, there has been no Domain covering this city.
Domains and aura. Again, Molam felt the bitter sense of loss, his natural right denied to him. Such was the price of his second chance at life.
Chasing the melancholy away, he focused his energy and thoughts on what was being relayed to him, feeling his breathing in the wintry air. Cities with a defending Titled One were protected not just by the fame of that Titled One, but by their Domain covering the city to its borders. While it seemed each Titled One had a different type of Domain, the overall purpose was the same: an established area where the Titled One easily monitored all the comings and goings of the people, but in many cases it also gave them an overwhelming advantage in battle.
"If the Tempest's Domain is not covering JiangXi, she must be unable to exert it or she is not here. Unless there's another reason I don't know of?"
She could be dead.
"If she was dead, word would be on the street. There is no possibility of that staying unknown for long." Molam murmured, deep in thought. Titled Ones that had any amount of battle prowess only died in extraordinary circumstances. "I don't know enough to understand why she wouldn't be able to exert her Domain, but her being gone is the simplest answer. But it does beg the question of: Why? If the Tempest is not here, then where?"
Molam wandered the streets of JiangXi aimlessly as he considered this situation, bickering with the spirit in low whispers as he walked. Though Winter's Sorrow was setting in, the city was still bustling with activity as citizens purchased goods they would need to stockpile to survive the cold even if there were no food stalls.
If he was to obtain the city's stockpile of elderwood, he would need to do it before the Festival of the Hero at the beginning of Spring's Blessings. If he did not move swiftly enough, he would soon find himself waiting until next Autumn's Colors before the city received its next allotment of the elderwood again. RainBringer and the Oracle had given him little choice in timing of the matter, and the warm feather on his wrist acted as a constant reminder of whom it was for.
He wandered towards the River Jiang's docks, built at the edge of JiangXi. The River Jiang itself was wide, so wide that one could hardly see the riverbank on the other side. JiangXi ensured that they built above the floodline so the city could provide a unique halfway point between Falysos upstream and HaiFeng downstream.
Though the cloak provided a decent amount of warmth, Molam still shivered at the cold as he came to the River and beheld its frozen waters. Trading ships were already trapped by a layer of ice, thick enough for the dockhands to be walking on it on their way to the ships.
This was not expected. IceMourne had not yet passed by, but it was cold enough for the River waters to freeze? He realized with a start that the comfort he had from the spirit's Domain of warmth meant that he had been oblivious to the actual cold evident all around him. The citizens were bundled up in thickly-lined coats and he was the one that seemed odd-one out with just a few layers.
The dockhands he talked to at the dock's tavern seemed to be unperturbed by his lacking layers so long as he bought them drinks, and Molam was delighted to find that alcohol melted ice and frigid attitudes equally well. Soon, he had learned that none of the captains had anticipated the river freezing so early, and confirmed his assumption that IceMourne had yet to pass over the city. The city's leadership was still awaiting its annual prediction of IceMourne's path from the Fallen Star Pavilion, but it had not yet arrived.
"The mursashu had commissioned most of these riverships?" Molam needed to confirm.
"Oh so you are listening, huh?" The dockhand was a large, thick-chested man wearing a fur-lined vest, and he had an overbearing habit of leaning in as he asked questions of his own. "Yeh, they don't come to the tavern and that's probably why you don't get a whiff of their perfumed robes here."
Molam blinked, hiding his disgust at the dockhand's breath. "Then where are they?"
The dockhand shrugged, leaning back towards his side of the table as he swirled his drink. "Where else? Their ships. Though the ships ain't going anywhere until the River Jiang thaws in Spring's Blessings, the Mursa Shang has ordered all of his group's cargo to be put into the ships. Must be nice to be cooped up in those warm ships with all that good food." He jerked a thumb down at the steamed potatoes Molam had ordered for the two of them, then shouted, "Hey, the salt! Where's the damn salt I asked for earlier?"
Molam thought it curious that the dockhand's meandering thoughts would stray there. "What do you mean good food? The mursashu are known for their food now?"
"No, not that. They're still the same old greedy money-counting opportunistic leeches." The dockhand murmured under his breath and puffed his cheeks. "Food's expensive now, after the drought and all, see?" He looked at his drink and frowned, then shrugged and took another swig. "And no one expected RainBringer to fucking flood half the Central Valley a few weeks ago. So Mursa Shang bought all that food before the flood and now the city suddenly loses half the storage meant to weather them through Winter's Sorrow. Look." The man lifted his mug and pointed with a finger outside and Molam saw a line of men carrying crates down to the docks.
"You see all those crates outside being hauled in? The Mursa hired extra hands to move the cargo, but you best not be hungry. A couple of children stole some last week and almost lost their hands."
It seemed even the City Lord Agytha would not risk offending the mursashu. Twenty-two river ships in total were being laden with food as cargo while the city guards patrolled in earnest, daring any thief to make a move on the cargo. They marched in groups of four, eyes darting about as they met the cold and hungry eyes of their kin. Molam wondered if behind their blank stares they had second thoughts about carrying out the City Lord's orders.
More questions that needed answers for when he returned to the Shrine.
***
Head Priestess Cerelia served leymint tea to him in a teapot with faded paint, and though his own cup seemed relatively new, he noticed a mild chip in the cup that the Priestess herself used. An Initiate had guided him to their current audience room, sparsely furnished and barely lit by light filtered through two large windows covered in paper to keep out the encroaching cold.
While Shrines were not a place of decadence, their role in society could not be understated. Even though the Empire openly declared its enmity with the Oracle and Sanctuary, the Red Emperor and the Prince had ensured that the Shrines were allocated a source of funding to provide the people a place to worship. To see JiangXi's Shrine in such a poor state of affairs raised even more questions in Molam's mind.
"I apologize if it's not hot," Cerelia murmured as she poured the tea for him and he saw barely a hint of vapor. "We've given most of our wood to the residents in need, and warming stones take time to boil a pot."
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Warming stones?" Molam picked up his tea and sipped at it. Lukewarm. The tea leaves had failed to simmer properly and the distinctive scent of leymint was scarcely present. There was a distinctive lack of food as well, and Molam played with his wristband under the table, hoping the spirit would understand his request.
"An alchemic invention. They look like stones, but radiate heat and you can put them outside in the Sun when their aura is spent to soak in the Sun's aura. They're being sold to the public by an alchemist, but he donates quite a bit to the Shrine for us to distribute to the less fortunate." She sipped at her tea and made a face. "Not a true replacement for a wood fire, but as IceMourne approaches we must make do in order to not die of the cold."
"Warming … stones." Molam resisted the urge to make a face, but he could not help commenting. The knowledge that an alchemist resided in JiangXi already surprised him, for the Empire had historically been intolerant of the profession. "This alchemist has a little creativity. Very on the nose."
Cerelia shrugged. "During times like these, no one cares much for the name. We only care about whether it does what we need it to do."
He resisted the temptation to ask the spirit to warm the pot and did not want to embarrass Cerelia by not finishing the tea, but if he waited any longer it would only get colder. He downed it in one gulp and set down his cup, grimacing internally at the bitter dregs.
The Priestess picked up the pot again and motioned to refill it, to which Molam hastily held out a hand. "Thank you. For the tea, I mean. But I had some earlier and my purpose here is not to drink tea."
"Oh. All right then." The Priestess set down the pot and rearranged herself in her chair opposite him. "What can I do for the Oracle's messenger?"
"First of all, let me thank you for taking the time to speak to me personally."
Cerelia waved away the statement. "It's not for you. It's to minimize the amount of contact you have with the rest of the Shrine. If anything goes wrong…" She looked at him with her amber eyes, and Molam nodded with understanding.
"Then I thank you for taking on the risk yourself. I will try and keep this brief, but I have four main questions." Molam shifted forward in his seat. "My first main question: What can you tell me about JiangXi's new City Lord?"
"Her name is Agytha, and she became City Lord three years ago. I have only met her on official duties, and do not know much about her otherwise." Cerelia drank her own tea without a change in expression. "But I can tell you about her governance." She pressed her lips together, "I don't know why, but Agytha isn't governing JiangXi like any of the other City Lords. The residents all hate her policies."
Molam listened in silence as Cerelia detailed the extent of Agytha's change in city-wide policies, not allowing his surprise to show on his face. As one of the largest rivers in the land, the River Jiang oversaw much of the trade that passed in the land between the Endless Sands in the West and the Deep Waters in the East, and JiangXi claimed an important status as the main trading hub on the River Jiang. Though it was a border city, it made little sense for the Empire to entrust JiangXi's governance to a City Lord that actively antagonized its residents.
"Wait." Molam held up a hand as he focused his gaze on Cerelia. "Could you repeat what you just said?"
"The circumstances of Agytha's appointment to City Lord are shrouded in mystery," the Priestess repeated, "We were just as surprised three years ago when Agytha showed up at the City Lord's Mansion with a missive from the Prince appointing her as the new City Lord." She sipped her tea nervously, "Many thought that it was an elaborate lie, but the Prince's official seal was confirmed and the Tempest works with Agytha willingly."
"None of this makes sense." Molam murmured, half to himself and half to Cerelia as he leaned back, trying to process this drastic change in JiangXi's power structure. "The Tempest's willing aid gives credence to Agytha's claim to the position. But why would the Empire send an unknown?"
Cerelia nodded her head in agreement at Molam's assessment, pouring herself another cup of tea. Molam watched the liquid slosh silently into the cup as he pondered. The position of City Lord was not given to just anyone – it was the highest authority within a city of the Empire. Even the leaders of the Free Cities followed this naming scheme and were referred to as the City Lord, but that may have just been out of respect for the Prince's treatment to those that called themselves Kings or Queens after the Empire's Fracturing.
"And since a practicing alchemist is in the city, does that mean Agytha is not enforcing the Empire's ban on alchemy?"
"I would think so, or at the very least, she knows that her aggressive ban on wood needs a replacement for the general populace and she has instructed the guards to turn a blind eye so far."
"This leads straight to my second main question then, though the scope has slightly expanded." Molam leaned an elbow on the table and propped up his chin in thought. "JiangXi … was not always this destitute and there is clearly a lack of wood. But it seems food is also lacking and the Empire has not provided for the people? What is going on? Is Agytha this inept?"
"I don't understand much about the food situation either," Cerelia admitted. "And as for wood, Agytha has been slowly collecting as much of it as possible, beginning at the end of Summer's Warmth. The price rose slightly throughout Autumn's Colors, but those that needed wood could still cut the trees at the edge of the Slumbering Forest. Unfortunately, almost two weeks ago there was a large fire in the Forest, did you know about that?"
Molam kept a straight face. "Yes, I've heard of it."
"Well, the Forest stirred and we all felt it." Cerelia shook her head, as though remembering something terrifying. "And whether it's because of the UnSeen or something else, many that entered the Forest to log wood haven't returned. As City Lord, Agytha determined that the Forest needed time to recover from the fire before logging was permitted again."
"A moment, please." Molam squeezed his nose bridge as he ruminated, trying to understand this as simply as possible. The pause hung heavily before he spoke again. "So…the supply of wood entering JiangXi has all but stopped for several months, right when Winter's Sorrow is starting and the people need wood to survive? The price of wood must have skyrocketed, and the city has wood in storage but hasn't done anything about it. How has this not resulted in rioting yet?"
"That's a very mercantile way of viewing it. Mursa Shang would approve." Cerelia refilled her cup. Molam gestured that he did not want any.
"But that's the extent of the situation, no? Isn't the Empire supposed to release its stores to the people when there's disaster? It feels as though Agytha oversees the city now, not the Empire."
Cerelia nodded without speaking.
"How are the residents accepting any of this? It's still a city of the Empire!" His frustration flared, and for a moment Molam forgot to evaluate how he could use this situation to his advantage. All he saw was an avoidable situation made worse by malicious action and negligent inaction, one that could only lead to desperate people making difficult choices.
"The people haven't." Cerelia murmured softly. "But it is hard to argue with a City Lord's actions when you live in the Domain of the Titled One that supports the City Lord."
"The Tempest." Molam exhaled heavily.
"The Tempest," Cerelia agreed. "I assume she's the subject of your third main question."
Molam nodded in appreciation at Cerelia's understanding. "A minor guess, but is the Tempest not here?"
The Priestess frowned, her gaze searching Molam's eyes. "Can you — oh, never mind. To your guess, yes. She left several days ago on a subjugation order." Her fingertip played with the rim of her cup as she looked down. "Not many know. JiangXi would prefer to not advertise that it is currently without a Titled One, though I believe she isn't too far."
Well that explains the lack of a Domain.
Molam agreed internally, seeing it as an opportunity that could be exploited. Any avoidance of a fight with the Tempest would simplify things as much as possible.
"A subjugation order that required the Tempest to mobilize? What is the target?" If he could figure out what the Tempest's target was, he could estimate how long it would take. That would be the amount of time he had to act without a Domain covering the city.
She answered after a moment of hesitation. "I believe the Tempest is looking for a bandit group named the UnSeen and a new Titled One named GloomSire."
The name sent pinpricks up Molam's spine, but he did not let it show. "How do you know?"
Cerelia met his gaze and replied in an even tone. "A Priestess hears many things in the Shrine."
Molam inclined his head in silent acknowledgement, understanding Cerelia's meaning. Prayer was generally a sacred communion between one's inner thoughts with the Gods, and the Priestess' were expected to keep all they saw and heard to themselves. Her admission to him may not have told him who made the prayer, but her subtle expression warned that he should not pursue this line of questioning any longer. He had learned that the Tempest was looking for GloomSire and the UnSeen, and that was valuable enough.
"You mentioned one last question." Cerelia changed the topic for them.
It was his turn to hesitate. "I'm looking for someone. Do you know if there's a woman named Primrose in the city?"
Her brow furrowed and she set her cup down before she answered. "If you stay just a bit longer, the alchemist will arrive with a batch of warming stones. I believe he may know who you're looking for."
***
"Molam, I would like you to meet the alchemist I spoke of."
Molam immediately recognized the alchemist's dark blonde hair and the thick scar running diagonally across his face.
"Kalle," Molam raised his eyebrows in surprise, pushing back his chair and standing up. "It has been some time since I bought my cloak and flame powder from you in Techoria."
The alchemist looked shocked and almost dropped the small sack he offered to Priestess Cerelia, who deftly caught it and gave him a disapproving look before leaving the room.
"I know you, you were the one Master Flangel guided around," Kalle hesitated. "Um, what was it again? Ca…Carlton?"
"That was a pseudonym," Molam corrected immediately, remembering the name and persona he adopted during his travels. "My real name is Molam. I do apologize for using a travel name when we first met." He didn't give Kalle time to complain about the deceit. "I almost didn't recognize you with your scruffy face now. Do you always grow that for Winter's Sorrow?"
"Oh, this. The houses here aren't equipped with heaters, so…" Kalle rubbed a gloved finger into his scraggly chin, squinting deeply in thought as he stared back at Molam. "Master Flangel spoke highly of you then."
Molam recalled the meeting with Flangel the Wise. Techoria's Master Alchemist had grudgingly accepted their initial meeting only because of the Oracle's color of approval, where Molam spent some time consulting the aging alchemist on the inner structure of Crimson City's Palace.
"I hope Flangel the Wise wasn't speaking of alchemy," Molam replied disarmingly with his hands held open, "I cannot compare to you alchemists at all."
Kalle's eyes seemed deep in thought before the man held out a hand. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Neither did I, if I'm being honest." Molam clasped Kalle's hand in greeting. "I thought you had a relatively good position in Techoria. Why did you leave?"
Kalle's eyes shifted downwards, "Well, yes. But…you..." he ran a hand through his hair. "Do you know what's happening in Techoria?"
Molam quickly recalled what he could of Techoria, the Free City of Alchemy, where he had bought the black powder and the flameproof cloak from Kalle. Founded by Flangel the Wise almost two centuries ago during the Empire's Fracturing, historians considered it the source of conflict between Flangel the Wise and the Prince of the Empire.
Molam frowned at Kalle's question. "I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to."
"The First and Third divisions of the Red Army have marched their way to Techoria during Summer's Warmth, led by their division commanders. And so…" Kalle grimaced, "I'm here. Doing what I can, I suppose. Why did the Head Priestess ask me if I could see you? And…you were Sanctuary's messenger the whole time?"
The bluntness of Kalle's question made Molam grin. He briefly contemplated whether the alchemist was trustworthy, but decided to trust Head Priestess Cerelia's judgment. "The Oracle pointed me towards a woman named Primrose. The Head Priestess indicated to me that you could help."
Kalle's eyebrows raised and his voice took on an edge. "What makes you think that?"
The door opened and an Initiate poked her head in. "The Head Priestess would like me to remind you that the Shrine is a place of neutrality."
"Oh. Of course," Kalle rubbed at his head sheepishly. "Yes. Well —"
"Please thank the Head Priestess for me, we'll see ourselves out." Molam smiled at the Initiate, then looked to Kalle. "The inn I'm staying at has quite the honeyed bread and spiced mulled mead. Care to join me?"
Kalle agreed, and they exited the Shrine together, Molam keeping the conversation light as he ruminated on what he had just learned. It made sense why Priestess Komura had abandoned that village. No village wanted to be in the way of two divisions of the Red Army, not to mention two of five division commanders. All division commanders in the Red Army were Titled Ones.
Two Titled Ones sent with an army to a Free City like Techoria could only mean war.